The Boston Ballet are one of the high-profile dance companies to perform during the 2008 Spoleto Festival. According to this report from The New York Times, the company is about the sack nine of its dancers, including two principles. The news came out Thursday and comes days after the ballet’s executive director announced she was leaving. Hmm.
The reduction comes as the ballet has recovered its financial footing after a tough blow: losing access in 2004 to the Wang Theater and its 3,800 seats for the ballet’s annual run of “The Nutcracker,” a show that puts food on the table for most companies.
Performing the “Nutcracker” in smaller theaters has cost the company about $1.5 million a year in lost revenue, said the executive director, Valerie Wilder, adding that its accumulated debt stood at $1.9 million. Nevertheless, in the financially precarious world of dance, Boston Ballet has run surpluses in the last two years and expects to tally one this season too.
Update: In wondering how the Boston Ballet’s financial situation might affect its upcoming performance at the Spoleto Festival, I apparently sounded like a sophomore in high school. Who is this guy? Especially to those in the know, those in the ballet world. Since writing this post, sources has told me there is nothing to worry about. Contracts for the Boston Ballet are effective until the end of August, well passed the dance troupe’s three highly-anticipated performances in May.
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